Minecraft Conquest: New Beginnings
by Bellyacher
Summary: "Ced, can you not see the problem! It's been a year since Cubonia fell apart...There's only seven of us left...while every other Minecraftian is either dead or imprisoned!" After many destructive causes, Cedric's home is gone and he and his friends roam the world, seeking a way to defeat the leader of the mobs. Will they succeed? More importantly, will they find their people again?
1. Prologue

Prologue

**IMPORTANT: I have realised that people have only seen the prologue of my fanfiction then just left from there. If you did click here on purpose, I suggest you read the whole story. I am still unsure if I should keep going with this fanfiction, so please review and follow if you really enjoyed it.**

**A/N:**

**Wow, I can't believe you actually found this story! Anyway, this is my first ever fanfiction I have created, so I decided to do it on one of my favourite games, Minecraft! I really don't know if this will get well known, so I decided to write this prologue as a preview of what the story will be about. The summary of the story isn't very reliable, as I have tried to explain the story in a nutshell without any spoilers. I should really stop writing and let you guys read. Cheers!**

**DISCLAIMER: ****I do not own anything from Minecraft, all rights go to Mojang. I only own my original characters.**

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27th April 2018

The sunset would have been beautiful, if it weren't for the exploisions nearby. As I write this journal entry, I can faintly hear the screeching shouts of my fellow comrades. Obviously I can't do anything since I am lying on my bed in my hospital room. My legs are severely injured and it is about two o'clock in the morning right now, but I still have the energy to finish writing this entry.

Two days ago, I was at a small dark chamber on a mission. It has been a fortnight since we left Cubonia, and we were all weak and tired. It was too challenging to continue our mission. We ran out of food and water; our swords looked rusted; we ran out of arrows (not that I needed them); and we were very low in numbers. Half of my soldiers left, not wanting to risk their lives anymore. I wouldn't call it cowardice; I knew what they felt. But as a young man who would risk anything for the safety of my companions, I had to stay strong, so I stayed in the room with my two best friends, Draydic and Letta.

We went out the dark chamber via trapdoor and explored a giant dark cave filled with glimmering ores and the deadly hissing of spiders. The only illumination we had was a single torch, that was about to burn out. The last thing I remember when I was there was hearing a large click when I stepped on what I think was a pressure plate. Afterwards all I heard were a variety of sounds mixed up together and jumbled up in my mind. I woke up and noticed I was lying on a very soft surface, and quickly realised I was lying on a comforting bed. I was surprised that I lived, as I thought that pressure plate would lead me to a trap that would injure me much more than a simple broken leg. I was even more surprised when I saw Draydic and Letta unharmed. They told me that I was only walking casually when suddenly they heard a click and a piston moved the block I was standing on. I fell in the hole and landed in a room full of TNT. Guess what happened next? It exploded. Fortunately my enchanted diamond armor absorbed most of the damage, but the fall broke my legs and the immense amount of stone that buried me made me unconscious. My friends were successfully able to rescue me and took me back to Cubonia, abandoning their mission.

Unfortunately the city has an extremely low amount of potions left in stock, mainly due to the fact that our Nether farm was spotted and destroyed by annoying ghasts. This meant my wounds had to be healed naturally. But hey, I can spend this time resting and not having to worry that a skeleton or creeper will pop up around the corner any minute.

I don't know why we are even in this war. In fact, we don't even know who we are defending ourselves from! All early history of the war is lost, so we barely have any knowledge of the other side. I was at the chamber because it was rumored that the leader was there, planning his/her/its next attack, and I was supposed to gather information from it, but I failed. However, I did see a glimpse of the leader at the caves before it dissapeared, as if it teleported. I knew it was the leader because it wasn't a mob; it was a human, or so it looked like one. It didn't have eyes at all, so all you could see was the white bones of the skull staring directly at you. It wore a distinctive and decorative black cloak that covered its whole body so I don't what kind of body it has. I find it unusual that he did not attempt to attack me or my friends. I would tell King Jeb about this but I don't think I have enough information to please him. He is not the joyful and forgiving king he was before. He is now a more judgeful and stricter king, showing barely any signs of mercy whatsover. If he found out I failed, he would cut off my left hand, the only hand I have left.

I'm pretty tired now so I am going to end this entry. Hopefully I can sleep well considering that the bombs and screams will not give me any pleasant dreams.

~Cedric Anthony

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**So was the story exciting and fun, or was boring and horrible? I'll accept any positive or negative feedback, as long as it will help me with my writing :)**


	2. Chapter 1: Fresh Start

Chapter 1: Fresh Start

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Minecraft, all rights go to Mojang.**

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I sat down near a small lake, shaded by a huge jungle tree beside me. I looked down at my reflection and saw my exhausted face. I had long messy hair, reaching to my shoulders, an untrimmed beard that almost covered my whole neck, and dirt marks all around my nose and forehead. I can't believe I look like a forty year old man when I am only twenty-one years old! My clothing is no different; it is slightly torn and covered in mud. I see a few blood stains from when I killed the zombie last night.

"Cedric!" A voice shouted to me. I turned around and saw Draydic sprinting towards me. His hair was short and black, and he had a small goatee on his chin.

"What the hell are you doing?! You're supposed to be looking food!" He roared.

"Come on Draydic, when was the last time we found any cows, or pigs, or chickens?" I questioned him. "We might as well wait for the wheat to grow and we'll harvest it."

"But it's going to take weeks!"

"Not to worry. We still have plenty of water!"

"Ced, can you not see how serious this problem is?! It's been exactly a year since Cubonia fell apart. We have to do everything ourselves! There's only seven of us left roaming the land, while every other Minecraftian is either dead or imprisoned!"

"Well I'm trying to be optimistic. Besides, we can't be the last seven people left. There's obviously more, just hiding or scavenging for supplies like we're doing. Anyway, lets just go back to camp."

I got up and walked away from the lake with Draydic. We went out from the large jungle and into a plains biome, where our camp was set up. There we saw Letta and her pet wolf, with her long brunette hair tied back, wearing her favourite vest. Stanley was in his tent, sharpening his iron sword with flint. His black hair and stubble covered half his face, and he only wore a jacket with no sleeves for his torso. Kana was reading her book, sometimes flipping her long black hair when it gets on her eyes. Jamie was snoozing on her sleeping bag cuddling a stuffed pig while her blonde hair covered the pig's head. I find it unusual that she's sixteen and she still sleeps with plushies like she's six.

"Find anything?" Letta asked me.

"Nope," I replied casually.

"Great. Another day to starve!" She moaned.

"Where did you go anyway Cedric?" Stanley wondered.

"Over there, where the jungle is," I told him as I entered my tent. "So...where's Damos?"

"He went to pick up water right beside the jungle, because he is the only resourceful person at the moment!" Draydic pointed out, obviously targeting me..

"Shut up Draydic," I retorted. I picked up my diamond sword and large backpack. "I'm going to find him."

"He isn't lost!" Draydic shouted to me, but it was too late. I was already sprinting to the direction where Damos was. I reached the bank of a river, but there was no sign of him anywhere. I was really worried when I saw his iron axe left near the raging river.

"Damos!" I called for him. There was no response, except for the whistling of the wind going through the tall grass. Knowing that he was probably lost or taken away by a mob, I walked to the axe and picked it up. When I turned around I was met with a brown face staring at me, with bloodshot eyes and a large grin on his face.

"Boo!" He shouted. I stepped back and almost fell in the river. I looked up and I saw Damos on the floor laughing like a hyena.

"Got you Ced!" He cried. I rose from the ground, pulled him up and kicked his groin.

"Not so funny now, is it?!" I yelled in anger.

"I was just joking around!" Damos whimpered. "Now you're not getting any food from me!" He pointed at his backpack and beside it I saw three buckets of delicious fish, all in a variety of colours.

"Holy crap that's a lot!" I exclaimed cheerfully. "I'm sorry Damos." I picked him up from the ground and got his backpack and buckets for him.

"No worries Ced. It doesn't really hurt anyway." He picked up his supplies and grabbed two of his buckets. "Mind if you pick up that last one for me please?"

"Sure thing." I lifted the bucket of fishes and let it hang against my right shoulder. I was going to obtain my diamond sword that I dropped near the river, but when I was about to grab it, an arrow pierced my shoulder. The bucket dropped and I fell down in pain. I looked up and saw a white skeleton, all muddy and grotesque, wielding it wooden bow, ready to take another shot. It swiftly took another arrow from its quiver and readied it on its bow. Right before it shot, an iron axe was thrown and hacked its head. The skeleton dropped dead. Damos picked up his axe, still in perfect condition, and ripped it off of the skeleton's skull.

"You got to admit, that was a pretty good shot!" Damos chuckled.

"Thanks for saving me Damos!" I huffed, still shocked from the surprise attack. I slowly took of the arrow that pierced my shoulder, and inserted it in my pack. Then I picked up my sword, sheathed it, and grabbed the bow and quiver wielded by the skeleton.

"Why do you want the bow? You only have one hand," asked Damos in curiosity.

"Letta is a pretty good archer, I might as well give this to her," I answered.

"Whatever, let's return to camp and bandage your wound."

"Alright."

As I walked to the plains I turned around and saw a tall person hidden in the grass. It wore a black robe that covered its entire body, encrusted with bits of diamonds and emeralds. Its face was covered with the cloak's hood, so I can only see a small grin on its face. It whistled for a second, replicating the same sound of the wind I heard moments ago. Afterwards he removed a small vile from its pocket, that appeared to contain a bluish-grey liquid. It slowly drank the mysterious liquid, then put the vile back in its pocket. Suddenly the person turned invisible, and that was it. I didn't see its face but I knew who it was. I remember that cloak before. it was the very same one the leader of the mobs wore when I saw it three years ago at the chamber. The leader knows who and where we are, and its spying on us.

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**A/N:**

**The first chapter of my fanfiction. Was it suspenseful, exciting and interesting, or was it a complete load of rubbish. Please, PLEASE review. I NEED to know if this fanfiction is worth it.**


	3. Chapter 2: Striking Back

Chapter 2: Striking Back

**DISCLAIMER: ****I do not own anything from Minecraft, all rights go to Mojang. I only own my original characters.**

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Why is the leader here? Why is it spying on us? More importantly, why hasn't it taken us down yet? the skeleton earlier was definitely no match for Damos and I. even if Damos wasn't there, I would have still killed it if it got close to me. My deep thinking was suddenly interrupted when I slammed my face against a tree.

"Watch your step Cedric!" Damos advised. He was already close to camp, while I was still half way. "Do you watch where you're going?"

"I'm...I'm okay," I muttered under my breath.

"Stop chatting with yourself and follow me already!"

I sprinted to Damos' direction as he pointed at camp, which was not far from him. Once I caught up with Damos he began to run as well. In under a minute we reached our camp, trying to catch our breath.

"Hey Ced and Damos, what are you doing?" Jamie yawned, as she got out of her sleeping bag.

"N-nothing," I lied. I don't know why I said that, I was usually honest.

"I know you're lying Cedric," Draydic said seriously. "I can tell from the tone of your voice."

"Alright, you got me. I'll tell you all about it after we eat some REAL FOOD!" I exclaimed joyfully. Damos dropped the buckets on the ground and everyone in our group gazed at the fish, as if it were all priceless diamonds.

"I have about fifty fish," Damos informed. I can see the overjoyed faces in everyone. Suddenly I realised my wound on my shoulder and asked Letta to quickly give me the first-aid kit. Once she gave it to me I entered my tent and patched myself up. Already I could see a fire blazing in the middle of our site, and the Minecraftians ready to cook. I checked the clock that hanged above the doorway. It was 3:00pm, so it was still a few hours before dusk.

"So tell us what happened Cedric," Draydic asked me. It was 4:00pm and we were vigourously devouring the fish. We were circling the fire, as if it were a cool night at a camping trip. I began to explain the events that occured at the river bank, with Damos occasionally exaggerating the story.

"...and that is how I, the mighty and powerful man that I am, saved this poor innocent man's life!" Damos joked after I told the story.

"He he, yeah," I chuckled uneasily.

"Something is troubling you," Letta noticed calmly. I sighed and lowered my head.

"When we were returning to camp, I saw something...unexpecting," I confessed, my head still down.

"And?" Stanley asked impatiently.

"In the tall grass, I saw the leader of the mobs." After my sentence I saw everyone looking at me, shocked with their mouths wide open.

"Why didn't he kill you?" Kana said, breaking the awkward silence.

"I don't know, and why are you implying it is male?" I replied. "Whatever. All I know is that he is near us, and may even be listening to our very conversation!" I stood up from my spot and glared around the surroundings.

"I'm getting tired of this!" Jamie moaned loudly and she stood up as well. "Why can't we fight back, or something? I hate living life like this, and I'd rather die doing what's right than spend another minute living in this cruddy piece of land!" I was surprised at this. She was never a courageous person, nor was she an intelligent, but from her speech, I knew I underestimated her abilities.

"You're right," I agreed. "Do any of you agree as well?"

"I do," Letta said happily. The same went for Draydic. Then Damos. Then Kana. Then Stanley.

"Alright then, but where do we begin?" Draydic wondered.

"Easy!" I exclaimed. I picked up a slightly torn map from my tent and showed it to my friends. "This map is no ordinary map. It is enchanted by one of the greatest priests of all time. It pinpoints to your exact location."

"So why do I see nothing?" Damos questioned.

"Well obviously this map has no sole owner, so you can only see the details of the map if a living creature touches it." I demonstrated by lifting a finger and touching the corner of the map. Suddenly black ink oozed out of the parchment, revealing a detailed bird's-eye view of the plains and surroundings of where I stood. I proceeded by swiping the parchment, revealing more of the landscape. I began to swipe north-west until I reached a destroyed city with many tiny moving figures roaming across the ruined land. "This is Cubonia, or so it was until we got invaded." Rough disturbing memories swiftly processed through my head as I thought of my harsh experiences being there.

"It wasn't your fault Ced," Draydic said softly.

"I know!" I retorted instantly. Draydic put his hands up mockingly, then lowered them when I glared at him fiercely.

"As I was saying, this is Cubonia," I continued. "We are going here because I know there are some good weapons and armour there, last time I checked, which was about a year ago hehe. There are even these special tools called Modifications, or Mod for short. They consist of a technological eyeglasses called Optifine, and a helmet called Forge that you wear. Optifine adjusts your vision so you have the most perfect eyesight, as well as adding the ability to have a HUD. Forge is like an API to install other modifications. Some of these other modifications are Rei's Minimap, where like its name suggests, adds a miniature map to your HUD. Advanced HUD helps you customise your HUD, and Recipe Book gives you a complete list of possible crafting recipes." I looked at my friends and saw Stanley and Jamie looking a bit confused.

"Don't worry Stanley and Jamie, we'll show you when we get there," Draydic said cheerfully. This is because they are the only ones who were not from Cubonia; the rest of us were.

"We shall go forth tomorrow, at the brink of dawn," I informed everyone at night. It was late and we spent the rest of our time chatting and wondering what to do when we get there. We rationed the fish and kept the bones for bone meal. We used it as fertiliser for our crops, and most of it should be harvested the next day. As I lay on my sleeping bed I heard a strange, yet familiar voice. "You will fail," It whispered in my head softly. I got up to see that everyone else was in their tents, and there was no one else around. It was already a rough and tiring day, so I shrugged it off and went to sleep. However, the voice was deep and ghostly, and it sounded very familiar. Too familiar.

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**Alright so what did you viewers think of it? I'm trying to make chapters longer, but it's hard to make these early ones longer. I'm trying to upload a chapter once a week/fortnight, so if you do like this fanfiction, feel free to follow! However, I have many school things to do so they may be uploaded most likely once a fortnight. :/**


	4. Chapter 3: Precise Plan

Chapter 3: Precise Plan

**A/N:**

**Another chapter, another adventure. Just a saying I randomly made up while typing. I'm trying to make chapters more detailed and longer, hopefully exceeding the 2000 word mark. Anyway, enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: ****I do not own anything from Minecraft, all rights go to Mojang. I only own my original characters.**

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I woke up just before dawn and stretched my arms and yawned. I got up and picked up my equipment sleepily. As I went outside my tent I looked around to find any of my friends awake. Nobody was there.

"Anyone awake?" I called. No answer. They must still be asleep, I thought. I checked the fire and noticed a few sparks flickering strangely. I slowly walked to the fire, and as I raised my head to check it, it suddenly roared and spouted to the sky. I fell down and fearfully crawled away, watching the fire in awe. What the hell, I thought. I noticed a quick burn on my shoulder, looked up, and realised the fire was raining down towards me. I quickly jumped to the nearest tent and saw Draydic sleeping.

"Wake up man!" I shouted, panicking. I nudged his shoulder multiple times until he quickly turned around and faced me ferociously. It's face was not Draydic's. It's face was grotesque, burnt off around the edges, and it had no eyes. This could be the leader of the mobs, but it wasn't this horrible. I quickly ran outside and noticed that everything was on fire. I had no choice but to turn around and face the mysterious person. I unsheathed my sword and pointed it towards my opponent. The leader snickered and swiftly grabbed my right hand. Wait, my right hand! It was amputated a long time ago!

"Hell awaits you," It said grimly, having the same voice I heard moments ago. The leader began melting my hand and I screamed at the excruciating pain. It laughed horrifyingly at my torture. Once it melted off my hand, the person grabbed my throat, left the tent and held me above the fire. "Goodbye, Cedric Anthony!" It exclaimed, before it dropped me. The moment I touched the incinerating flames, I woke up from my nightmare. I was gasping and sweating, and it was just before dawn. I checked to see if it was a dream by pinching myself, and I felt pain. It was reality.

I grabbed my equipment and exited the tent. It was relieving to see Draydic, Letta, Damos and Stanley already chatting near the dead fire.

"Hey Ced!" Draydic said cheerfully. "You look terrible. Are you sick?"

"No, I just had a bad dream," I replied.

"Same too," Damos said. "I dreamt about flying pigs taking over the world, and you died." I stared at him confusingly.

"What?!"

They had giant wooden hoes pointed at us!" He added.

"Your crazy," Letta joked.

"Hey Cedric, can I borrow your map please?" Draydic asked.

"Sure. Here," I said. I removed the enchanted map from my backpack and lent it to Draydic. He walked to a nearby tree and studied it closely. Draydic must have a strange obsession with the map.

"Anyway, what was your dream about Ced?" Stanley questioned, while drawing something on the dirt with a stick.

"Nothing really, just fire and stuff like that-" I informed them before I got interrupted.

"GUYS PACK UP QUICKLY!" Draydic scream to us. He sprinted to me and showed me the map. He pointed at a group of mobs coming our way. It wasn't a big group; it was a gigantic group. It was double the size of our camp base, and was moving faster than the average mob.

"Stanley quickly wake up Kana and Jamie. Letta gather the rations. LET'S GO!" I ordered. I climbed up a birch tree and gazed at the horrifying amount of mobs sprinting to us. There were literally thousands of them. I saw a skeleton notice me and quickly fired an arrow towards me. I easily sidestepped and dodged it, but then other skeletons did the same. I wielded my sword and used it to deflect the arrows.

"HURRY UP GUYS!" I cried impatiently. Suddenly a spider climbed the tree I stood on and jumped on my face. I quickly punched it off but I fell from the tree and landed on my back, leaving my sword lying on the bushy leaves.

"Let's go Cedric!" Damos shouted. They were already packed and ready.

"Wait! I need to get my sword!" I replied loudly. I re-climbed the tree and quickly retrieved my diamond sword. I jumped down only to face a creeper in front of me, already sizzling. I had no time to react except to block with my sword and the green creature exploded. I was sent flying and was right in front of the army of mobs. The pain was excruciating, but I was still able to get back on my feet. A zombie grabbed me and attempted to bite my neck, but an arrow pierced its head before the teeth reached my soft flesh.

"We got your back!" Letta said cheerfully. Everyone else in my group returned for me and charged at the mobs courageously. I held my sword firmly and we began chopping heads of the zombies, crushing the bones of the skeletons, slicing the bodies of the spiders, and piercing the skin of tiny silverfish. Whenever a creeper got close Letta was able to kill it before it exploded. Only a few minutes passed and we were already tired from fighting. This was a stupid idea, I thought as I blocked another arrow from a skeleton.

"We can't fight back! Let's just turn around now!" I demanded.

"Alright everyone retreat!" Draydic screamed. We all ran away from the deadly fight. Everyone except for Jamie.

"Where's Jamie?" Stanley asked. A high pitched scream signaled her position. I turned around and saw her stuck between the mobs. Apparently she tripped over without us noticing and is trying her hardest to fight back the mobs. Skeletons and zombies covered our view of her, then we heard a creeper explosion around her position.

"It's too late," I told my friends. "Let's go!"

We sprinted as fast as we could towards the direction of Cubonia until the mobs could not be seen. I felt bad not saving Jamie, but there was literally no choice. Everything happened in a second; not even Letta would notch a bow and shoot before the tragedy. Once it was safe we rested at a forest biome.

"Great plan! It's day one of our brilliant plan and already someone has died!" Stanley mocked me sarcastically. He began kicking a tree angrily.

"It wasn't my fault! How was I supposed to know they were there?!" I argued. "Be glad that we woke up early or else we would be in the same position as her!"

"She's my sister, you know that right?! If it was any of your friends how would you feel?!"

"I couldn't save her! None of us could have saved her, and you know that!"

"Stop fighting!" Letta interrupted. "This is what the leader of the mobs want from us."

"I'm getting tired of saying leader of the mobs all the time. Why don't we call him X, or just Leader for short?" Damos interrupted.

"Not now you idiot," I heard Draydic whisper to him.

"Letta's right," I said to Stanley. "It's no one's fault, okay?". He nodded in agreement, but he was still upset. At least he stopped harassing me and the tree.

"Can you give me the map again Ced?" Draydic asked. I lent him the map and he analysed it thoroughly again. Meanwhile I sat in the shade and took out a large and heavy book from my bag called 'The Minecraftian Encyclopedia' written by a famous explorer named Steve. Around the beginning of Minecraftia, there were barely any Minecraftians roaming the land, and the mobs took over the majority of the world. A young man named Steve travelled around the world, and he has written his adventures and findings in a diary, now known as this encyclopedia. He died of old age, but his writing remains to this very day.

"What are you looking for?" Kana questioned.

"Nothing in particular, just reading this to past the time," I answered truthfully. I was reading a chapter about the End, the home to these creatures called Endermen and the rare Ender Dragon. Apparently they used to roam Minecraftia frequently during Steve's time, but apparently that is not the case anymore. In fact, I've never seen one in real life before, and it is unknown if they are actually real.

"Um, guys, we should start moving again," Draydic told us uneasily.

"They still following us?" Damos guessed.

"Yes, but the good news is that we are going the right way, and we should be there in about 3 days if we walk every 5 hours then rest for 1 hour." Draydic tried to put on a smile but we just looked at him seriously. "I know we are going through a hard time, but if we work together we can accomplish this; as a team. Now let's get going because the mobs are really close now."

I turned around and I indeed saw the outlines of the mobs. I could even hear the spiders screeching. We nodded our heads and sprinted to the direction of Cubonia, following Draydic's plans. Even though this was one of the toughest times in my life, we were going back to a barren wasteland that I still call my home.

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**A/N:**

**So what do you readers think about my story? I'm really happy to accept feedback that will help me in my writing. If you really enjoy this story, don't hesitate to follow or favourite it, it's not going to hurt you! I think...**


	5. Chapter 4: The Sandstorm

Chapter 4: The Sandstorm

**DISCLAIMER: ****I do not own anything from Minecraft, all rights go to Mojang. I only own my original characters.**

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"How far is Cubonia?" I moaned as I tread along the desert sand in the boiling heat. Draydic took out the map and held it in front of him.

"Like, 20 kilometres," he answered. He used the map to remove the sweat that dripped from his forehead.

"Don't do that man!" I snapped. "Sure it's magical but it still has the properties of a normal parchment."

"Whatever." Draydic put the map back in his pocket.

"Would have been nice if we brought a tent," Letta pointed out. I nodded in agreement because my mouth was too dry to talk. I grabbed my water bottle and took a quick sip.

"Alright everyone, it's been five hours. Resting time," Draydic told us. I quickly face-planted the sand and turned around to face the blazing sun.

"Is it just me, or does that yellow ball at the sky falling down on us?" Damos said randomly.

"It's called the sun," Stanley informed him. "And I think you're hallucinating."

"You're hallucinating!" He retorted.

"And you're an idiot," I joked. I grabbed my water bottle again and this time drank half the bottle. Feeling more energized, I jumped up and grabbed some wood from our resources bag. I set up three crudely placed pillars made of wood on the sand. Then I took out a blanket from my bag and hanged it on the pillars. "Tada!" I exclaimed. The only who people who stared at my creation was Letta and Stanley.

"Dude that can only fit like, one person in that," Stanley criticised.

"It's the only shade we have!" I told him.

"Yeah, and it's crap."

"It's alright," Letta commented.

"See, someone appreciates my creative work!" I said to Stanley.

"Whatever," He moaned. He used his bag as a pillow and rested in the blazing heat. I got under my shade and read 'The Minecraftian Encyclopaedia'. I read a chapter about The Temple of Notch. Notch's real name is Markus, and he is a demigod along with his twin brother, Brine. Interestingly it was built on the same place he was given birth to. This encyclopaedia doesn't give any other info about them. The Temple of Notch is built not quite far away from Cubonia. I read a bit more from the book, trying to find something that could help me in this situation. Steve has written that if the temple is destroyed, Notch will be angered and will seek the destroyer. Once he finds he/she Notch will kill them and send them to a world of nothingness as punishment. I don't know if this is true, but this will definitely not help me.

"How are you Ced?" Letta interrupted. She squeezed inside my shade. "Why are you reading this book again?"

"I'm pretty bored, and this is the only thing that can entertain me," I replied.

"Well why can't you have a conversation with us?"

"Draydic and Kana are sleeping, Stanley is still angry at me, and I'm pretty convinced that Damos passed out."

"Well what about me?"

"I, um, have no topics to talk about."

"Alright fair enough. Why don't you read me something?"

"Sure, what chapter?"

"Whatever you're up to."

"Okay then." I flipped to the next page and a note suddenly dropped from the book. "Weird, I've never seen this before," I told Letta. The note looked very old, was torn around the edges, and blood was imprinted all around the parchment. Curiously I opened it up and in the writing it said 'You do not know me, you do not see me. You do not hear me, you do not feel me. You do not know that I am here with you, watching, listening, knowing. I know your every step, I know your every plan. I know you are plotting to kill me. Why try? You will not win. You have nothing to lose but your beloved friends. A sandstorm is approaching. I will grab you, one by one, dead or alive.' I gazed at the disturbing note horrifyingly, then looked at Letta. She too was frightened and disturbed.

"The leader has to be bluffing!" Letta exclaimed.

"Don't try to be optimistic," I replied. "We have to go now, even if we have to run in the deadly heat!" We woke up the rest of our group and told them everything that just happened.

"I'm sorry, but we can't risk it," Letta said to our group.

"There has to be a different way!" Kana complained.

"Even if there is no sandstorm, the mobs are still following us," Draydic explained by showing the map.

"Wait, can we see the map again?" Damos asked.

"Here," I said as I gave it to him. When he opened the note another parchment dropped. It was in the same condition as the previous one, except it was crumpled and bloodier. I quickly grabbed the note in case Damos did something stupid with it.

"For your own good," I told him. I slowly unrolled the parchment, shaking my hands in suspense. Once the note was opened I said the only two words in the parchment. "Too late."

Immediately after I said it a loud rumble was heard in a close distance. The air where the sound was coming from suddenly turned red-orange and approached us swiftly. As it got closer the rumble became louder. We all reacted at this strange phenomenon by sprinting away from it. The boiling heat and lack of hydration definitely did not help us escape the deadly sandstorm. In a matter of seconds we began to feel sand piercing our skin painfully. Some of us cried in pain but we managed to maintain our speed.

"Put your heads down!" I shouted to my companions. All of them did what I told them to do but when Damos did this he lost consciousness immediately and passed out on the floor.

"Damos!" Draydic shouted. He turned around to try to help him but the force of the sand pushing on his face made him scream and he fell down moaning. By this time the sandstorm reached us and the sand felt like needles, stabbing our skin every second. I finally lost control of my body and dropped on the floor. My body was too weak to shout or cry in pain. I saw Kana trip and got sucked in the sandstorm. Letta and Stanley were still sprinting for her life until the sandstorm finally blocked my view of them, then my sight entirely. All I saw was a red-orange colour everywhere. I then closed my eyes, waiting for the storm to stop. Instead, I lost consciousness and laid at the hot, arid desert in a sandstorm.

"Had enough?" I voice spoke in my mind. I opened my eyes and I saw myself sitting in an ordinary wooden chair in a black empty room, and a redstone lamp hanging above me. Everything else was pure darkness. I saw a cloaked figure approaching me. Priceless ores shined all around the person. It knelt down and stared at my eyes with a grin on its face.

"Who are you? What is your name?!" I replied.

"Why should I say? You already know that I am the leader!" It spat in a deep voice.

"What is your purpose? Are you gaining anything by doing this?"

"I have my...issues. You would know this Cedric considering you have some as well."

"You do not know anything about me!" I was enraged and felt like I was about to explode.

"Now now, no need to get angry. We are only having a simple conversation. You have to control your emotions or else you will end up being a more terrible person."

"What do you mean by 'more terrible'?!"

"Do I have to remind you what happened three years ago?"

"I didn't do anything wrong!" I was sweating and my face was all red. I tried to stand up from my chair but I couldn't as if I was glued to it.

"You left your post that night for selfish needs, and you were guarding the exact area we were targeting!" By this time the leader was laughing. "And when we actually did attack, you didn't fight for your people. You ran away from Cubonia with two other people like a coward!"

"Shut up! How do you know all this?! You can't even see!"

"And you only have one hand yet you are one of the finest swordsman I have seen. You see Cedric, both of us have special independent gifts. I just used mine for more, vengeful purposes."

"Why are you telling me all this? Don't you want to kill me?!"

"You seem to have plenty of questions, but I will not answer them until you answer my first question; had enough?" I didn't answer the question and stayed silent. "I didn't want to do this but you left me choice." The leader snapped his fingers and all the pain I felt in the sandstorm returned in one huge bolt. I roared in pain very loudly and tried to shake away from my chair. "Now, answer my question."

"N, no! I have not had enough!" I tried to ignore the pain but the large grin on the leader's face knew I was still being tortured.

"Really?"

"YES!" I shouted. I got out of my chair and punched the leader on his face. The leader disappeared into thin air and I returned to reality. The sandstorm subsided, but we were all still injured on the floor. I still felt the excruciating pain, but this time I had a lot of strength in my body. I pushed myself up and brushed the sand of my body. I turned around and found the bodies of Draydic and Damos. They had cuts all over their body, and they looked dead. I checked their pulses and was happy to feel a beat coming from both of them. I grabbed both of their arms and hanged them around my neck. I dragged them until I reached the body of Kana. She is in the same condition as the other two, but she had less cuts on her. When I got near her she slowly turned her head and saw me.

"Hey," she whispered weakly. She coughed lightly and bits of sand came from her mouth.

"Don't talk, I'll get us out of this," I told her. She slowly got up from the sand and put her hand on my shoulder.

"Don't worry," She whispered. "I can handle myself." She retrieved her iron sword from her back and used it as a walking stick. She also took Damos away from me and out his arms around her neck.

"Do you know where to go?" Kana asked me weakly.

"Wait, I'll get the map first," I ravaged through Draydic's bag until I found the old parchment. I checked it and pointed at the direction where Cubonia was. We decided to walk from there, dragging the two unconscious men with us.

"Have you noticed that Letta and Stanley isn't with us?" Kana pointed out.

"True. I hope they're okay," I replied. I remember seeing them run away, but that was it.

"Also, you don't seem to be hurt, but you have cuts and bruises all over you!"

"I had an inspirational dream." I replied, even though my body aches, had a dry and sore throat, and felt like I was going to pass out any minute.

"Do you find your dreams...connected Cedric?" I stopped walking when she asked me the question. I thought about the fire dream and my recent dream, and how they both had the leader in them.

"Cedric, did you hear me?" Kana snapped.

"Look, can we just walk," I said. The heat is really getting me," I replied. Kana shook her head in disbelief. We continued to walk for a few more hours until Kana dropped and fell unconscious from the heat. Great, I thought. Now I have to carry three people. I tied Draydic and Damos' shirts to my bag, so they were dragging along the sand as I walked. I held Kana in my arms and continued from there.

After what felt like an eternal walk the sun was finally setting and hot winds became chilly. I cherished the cold winds, cooling my body down with every blow. My throat was still very parched, so I drank the last of my water in my bottle. Once dusk ended the weather became extremely cold and I had no choice but to stop where I was. I lost almost all my energy, and I needed to keep my consciousness steady. I untied Draydic and Damos, and dropped Kana from my hands. I took out their blankets from their bags and covered them with it. Immediately after I was done I blanked out and went unconscious.

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**A/N**

**So review if you please, and follow/favourite if you really enjoy this story! :)**


	6. Chapter 5: A New Man

Chapter 5: A New Man

**DISCLAIMER: ****I do not own anything from Minecraft, all rights go to Mojang. I only own my original characters.**

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"Good morning, Cedric!" A voice called in my head. Great, it's the leader of the mobs in another lucid dream, I thought. This time I was inside a large hall with nothing but a wooden floor and a throne where the leader sat.

"What do you want from me now?" I asked impatiently.

"How are you feeling?" He sneered.

"Never better," I said sarcastically.

"Good, and how are your friends?"

"Look can you stop tormenting me?! If you truly want to fight me then face me physically!"

"I've only fought you mentally and I'm beating you! In fact I should-" The leader spoke until he got interrupted by a splash of water hitting my face. I woke up from my dream and saw an old man in front of me. His hair was white and he had a long beard reaching to his stomach. He wore blue spectacles lowered to his nose. He was holding a bucket of water and had a nice smile on his face.

"Hello," The man spoke. "My name is Jonathan, but you can call me John."

"H-hi," I said in a hoarse voice. My throat was still very parched from staying in the desert. Speaking of the desert, I wasn't there anymore. I was in a lovely cosy shack. "May I have some water please?"

"Of course!" He replied cheerfully. He went the kitchen and returned with a glass of water in his hand. I drank all of it in one go. "Tell me young man, how did you end up in the desert?" He asked politely.

"I wa-was returning to Cubonia to f-find supplies," I stuttered.

"Cubonia? Isn't that place in ashes now?"

"It is, but...Look, what if I told you that my friends and I are trying to defeat the leader of the mobs?" My voice was better again.

"I would say I know already. Your friend Draydic has already woken up, and is resting on the couch!" John pointed at Draydic, who was actually listening to our whole conversation.

"Hey," Draydic said happily.

"Hey," I replied. "Excuse me John, where's your bathroom?"

"What's a bathroom?" He asked me curiously. I looked at him with a shocked face. "I'm just kidding!" John joked. I was laughing in relief. This old man is living alone in a dangerous time yet he seems to be able to crack jokes easily. John led me to his bathroom, where I looked at the mirror and stared at myself. I noticed how hairy I have become over the past year. I checked his cupboards for a shaver and was happy to see one in a shelf. I turned it on and shaved my fuzzy beard. Then I grabbed a pair of shears and gave myself a haircut so that it only reached up to my neck. I looked at my new, well groomed face in the mirror, and was happy that I stopped looking like a 40 year old man.

I exited the bathroom and sat next to Draydic. "Um, are we the only people you've found?" John asked.

"Well, yes," He replied. "Is that a problem?"

"A bit yeah. We were travelling with two other people named Damos and Kana."

"I'm sorry to hear. I only found you two in the desert."

"Alright," I answered grimly. Suddenly a question popped in my head. "Wait, why were you in the desert in the first place? You don't seem to have a purpose."

"Well, you see," John answered. "A cloaked man came here last night and told me to save anyone you see in the desert." All I thought in my head was the leader of the mobs, but it couldn't because I'm pretty sure it wants to kill me.

"Can you describe any of his features?"

"Well he only wore a raggedy cloak and couldn't see his body. I do know his name, however. His name is Hanester." Hanester didn't sound familiar at all.

"Thank you," I told John. He smiled and nodded his head. He left the house afterwards. Meanwhile I took out the map and noticed the house was in a forest. A grim thought told me that we have lost track in our expedition. I scrolled north-east and was happy to see that Cubonia was only within around ten kilometres. I the scrolled backwards and I saw the desert we were in. Then I zoomed in the area I built my shelter and realised it was only about half a kilometre away from the forest! I facepalmed in regret, realising that I was walking BACKWARDS from where we were supposed to go. If my mind was better at the time we would've escaped the sandstorm and have Stanley, Letta, Damos and Kana with Draydic and I searched the map to see any of my friends around, but couldn't find anything but trees and mobs. The elder man returned to his home carrying a bucket of fish.

"Excuse me John, is it alright if we rest here for a night?" I asked him.

"Of course! Stay here for as long as you want!" He answered. "Unfortunately I don't have a guest room, but the couch is here."

"Thanks," I told him again.

Jonathan was a very nice and supportive man. For lunch and dinner he cooked us fish and bread, which was good since I haven't eaten quality food in a while. During lunch he told us his story. "Twenty years ago my wife Sarah and my two twin sons James and Daniel lived in a town called Galeyway. We wanted to get out of the busy towns and city and settle at a quiet area. Coincidentally we found this area when my sons went here during camp, and decided to live here. Being a carpenter I built a nice cosy home here, and a farm to raise livestock. It took a year of hard work but it was worth it. By then my children finished school and were happy to live here with me. We were a peaceful family for eighteen years until the mobs came. They asked for our land but I refused. As punishment they imprisoned my son and they...killed my wife." Draydic and I looked at John with sympathy. "It's alright though. What has happened in the past, stays in the past," He shrugged the thought off and showed us his farm near the shack. It didn't have much; there were only a few chickens and horses there. He offered us two of his well bred horses for our journey, in which we cheerfully accepted. He helped us recover by giving us rare herbal medicine. By the time it was night we were exhausted from living freely for once. Draydic was on the couch and I was on the floor in a sleeping bag. John was already snoozing by the time we reached our couches.

"Hey Ced, do you think...that...Letta and all them-" Draydic asked me.

"They're alright!" I interrupted. "If this man was able to survive this post-war madness then I'm pretty sure our friends can too!"

"Okay, no need to get angry. Look, Cedric, I know why you want to go back to Cubonia."

"Yeah, just to get weapons!"

"No. It's something else. You're going back to Cubonia because you still believe there are Minecraftians alive there!"

"You're w..." I thought for a moment and realised Draydic was right. Deep in my heart, and still think there are survivors there. "You're right."

"Don't worry Ced, I believe too."

"Nice to know. Goodnight Draydic."

"Goodnight."

I woke up the next day full of joy because the leader of the mobs didn't torment me. It confuses me what his purpose is. If he truly is the man named Hanester, why would he save me? As I looked around I found no signs of Draydic anywhere. I checked outside and saw him in the farm, having fun with a horse. I ran to Draydic and greeted him.

"Hey man! John is getting your horse," Draydic said cheerfully.

"She's right here!" John spoke loudly. We turned around saw him dragging a dirty horse with a brown mane. She looked rather happy to see me.

"She is a bit messy and isn't friendly, but give her a nice scrub and she'll be a valuable companion. When he let go of the rope that held the horse she quickly ran to me and circled me ferociously.

"Is this a good thing?" I pointed out.

"I don't know. I've never seen her like this," John answered. The horse abruptly stopped in front of me and nodded her head as if she wants me to ride her. Without a single thought I jumped on her and she quickly galloped out of the farm and around the shack. I held onto her mane tightly as she sped faster.

"How do I control her?!" I shouted.

"You have to ride on her with a saddle, then you can control her!" John shouted. I had no choice but to wait for her to tire out, which was half an hour later. When she stopped to rest I quickly jumped off and threw up on the stop. Draydic patted my back lightly.

"Didn't you learn anything during horse training?" Draydic teased.

"Shut up," I said before I threw up yesterday's lunch. Draydic laughed at me as I kept vomiting. After it was over we returned to the shack and packed our bags. John kindly offered us food and an extra water bottle for each of us for our journey. He also gave us apples to feed our horses.

"Goodbye fellow travellers!" Jonathan said as we left early in the morning on our horses. I've got quite accustomed to my horse and named her Red, after my favourite colour. It's not very original, but it was the only thing I could think of. We waved back to the old man then went our ways to Cubonia. Along the way there was a steep hill we had to travel. Going around it was going to take too long, so we had to climb manually whilst holding our horses. It took almost an hour, but once we reached the top. We saw Cubonia in a distance. The stone walls were destroyed and the obsidian inside the walls were destroyed. A large hole was visible on the wall. Former King Jeb's castle could be seen next to it, but two towers were destroyed and the roof was full of dangerous mobs. I could not believe that Cubonia was only two kikometres away.

"We're home," Draydic spoke cheerfully. I was never so happy to see a destroyed and evil-lurking ruin before.

"I know," I replied. We mounted on our horses and galloped our way to Cubonia.

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**A/N**

**Review, follow, favourite anything you want!**


	7. Chapter 6: Land of Nothingness

Chapter 6: Land of Nothingness

**DISCLAIMER: ****I do not own anything from Minecraft, all rights go to Mojang. I only own my original characters.**

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=One Year Ago=

"Hey Draydic!" I called to my friend at the armory.

"What?" He moaned.

"Is it my shift or your shift at the front gate?"

"Yours. Why?"

"Wanted to try out this diamond sword I enchanted the other day!"

"Cool. What are the enchantments?"

"Got a clean Sharpness II on it!"

"Damn dude!"

"Yeah it's better than this piece of crap." I unsheathed my rusty diamond sword and threw it at a pile with the other weapons.

"Hey guys!" A brunette woman appeared at the front of the door.

"Hey Letta," I replied.

"I'm here to let you know that the party is on tonight."

"Are you serious?! I have a night shift today!" I swiftly turned my head to Draydic. "Wanna-"

"No," Draydic interrupted. "We're not swapping."

"Whatever. Sorry Letta," I sighed.

"Don't worry. It's only my birthday party. I'm having ice cream cake there though, so hopefully there will be some left," Letta said cheerfully.

"Yeah," I grabbed some iron armour and left the armory. I wanted to return home but King Jeb stopped me in my footsteps.

"Good morning Mr Anthony!" He greeted.

"Hey sir. Look, I'm in a hurry so if you could please-"

"Nonsense! I'm sure it could wait!" He rudely grabbed my shoulder and took me to his office. He forced me to sit on a chair and then confronted me in a boss-to-worker fashion.

"Why did you bring me here?" I complained.

"I heard you're not taking your role as Sergeant Major seriously."

"So you're going to lecture me?"

"No, in fact that's not why you're here. You're here because you need to be informed that a huge army of mobs are going to invade us tonight!"

"And...that's good news?"

"I'm not finished! As I was saying, a huge army of mobs are going to invade us tonight, but the leader is going to be there with them!"

"Again...it's a good thing?"

"Yes, because it will be the closest we are going to be with the leader. Much closer than your encounter last year in that silly cave! That also means that if we kill him, we win the war."

"Good to hear. But how will we find him over the other mobs?"

"That would be a challenge, but you did say he was human, so we have to find the most humane thing within the mobs."

"Alright. I'll tell the others soon." I left the office and accidentally bumped with Permus. He has long black hair, skinny and is slightly shorter than me.

"Hey Cedric," Permus said.

"Hey Perm can you quickly tell this to everyone?" I told him everything Jeb told me and he ended up with a shocked face.

"Why can't you tell everyone else," Permus questioned me.

"I got errands so I got to go," I quickly sprinted to my home and saw my father at the front entrance.

"Hey Ced. What's the hurry?" My father asked me.

"Nothing dad," I lied.

"Okay then," He walked off and looked at me suspiciously. I entered my house and went inside my room. I peeked outside for anybody, then locked the door. I closed the doors and underneath my bed was a locked box. I took out a key from my pocket and unlocked it. I opened it and took out an important book. It was an enchanted book. I opened it and re-read the encrypted writing. It contained an enchantment so rare that there were only three copies made. It was the Wither enchantment.

=Present=

Draydic and I were only two kilometres away from Cubonia. We were mounted on our horses, and they galloped swiftly to the city. The cool breeze blew on my face as Red sped off. Our excitement went abrupt when we saw a huge ditch in a distance. Draydic looked at me with a worried expression. I simply nodded my head and he knew that we were going to jump. When the time was right our horses leaped simultaneously and we landed on the other side safely. As we jumped, however, I looked down and a saw a group of zombies with their arms in the air. It was a disturbing thought, that anyone who fell would be torn apart by the zombies and become one of them.

After a few minutes we finally reached the entrance of Cubonia. What was once a protective gate now became a huge chunk on the wall. Roaming around it were skeletons and mobs. We decided to go inside silently without trying to kill the mobs. We tied our horses at a spot where they will not be harmed by any vicious creatures, then proceeded by climbing a tall tree near the walls. As a child my friends and I used to always go out of the city illegally to play, and we always used climb this tree in order to return home. Once we reached top we climbed the wall and reached the top. The walls near the tree were somewhat cracked, so it was easier to grip on. We were surprised by a zombie at the top but Draydic easily pushed it off before it bit us. We reached a tower at one corner of the walls and went down the cracked stairs. Once we went down we exited the tower and saw that the area was populated with blood seeking mobs. We quickly returned to the tower and locked the door.

"That's a lot Ced!" Draydic gasped.

"I know man," I replied. I slowly unlocked the door and slid my head out to see if they spotted us. I sighed in relief when I saw that they were still roaming the land harmlessly, for now. I quickly sped out of the door and ran to a nearby home. Draydic followed immediately.

"Could've told me we were going!" Draydic spat angrily.

"Yeah yeah," I said nonchalantly. We silently walked to an open window then jumped inside without the mobs noticing. The house was surprisingly in good condition, except a lot of the items were dusty. We tiptoed up a small set of stairs then reached the second storey of the abandoned home. It was the bedroom. There was only a bed and a chest, with a few lamps on the corners. I checked the chest and found an iron chestplate and an iron helmet. I gave Draydic the chestplate, as he was the 'tank' back when we were part of Jeb's army. I slid the helmet on my skull and felt uncomfortable since I did not wear any armour for such a long time. The hair got in my eyes, so I had to tuck it inside the helmet.

"Where do you want to go now?" Draydic asked.

"The armory. We can get better resources there," I answered. I saw the castle nearby through the window and found the perfect path. "The mobs have only taken up ground space. The only way to reach the castle is to get back up the wall and jump down from there."

"Awesome." We left the house and silently returned to the tower. We walked up the stairs and reached the top of the wall. Luckily there were no mobs on the walls. Since there was no danger we ran until we reached the side of the castle. It was too high to jump off safely, so we had to devise another plan. I snapped my fingers when I saw a pool of water a few metres from the castle. I pointed at the pool and Draydic nodded in agreement. We reached the pool of water and saw that the jump was higher than I thought. Nevertheless, I still jumped and safely landed on the pool. I quickly got out and dried myself. I signalised Draydic to jump by giving him the thumbs up. My best friend was nervous at first and backed away slowly, but he quickly regained confidence and jumped. He landed perfectly in the middle and survived. When he got out he quickly removed a towel from his bag and dried himself up. He didn't bother lending it to me and put it back in his bag.

We were at the back of the castle, so we had to walk around it to reach the entrance. Once we were at the front we saw a long and huge flight of stairs. We walked up cautiously, but we jumped when we saw that there were a frequent amount of mobs inside the once beautifully designed interior. We tried to hide next to the entrance but it was too late. A creeper saw one of us and headed our way. Others slowly followed the exploding monster. Draydic steadily unsheathed his sword. He signalised me to run inside and enter the armory after he kills the creeper. I nodded my head and unsheathed my sword as well. Once the green mob was in sight Draydic quickly stabbed its head with his sword then shouted, "Run!" We ran inside and raced to the enclosed room. We dodged the mobs that were coming our way, sidestepping the punches and deflecting the arrows with our swords. Once we reached the door unharmed I slammed my head on it fiercely. I recovered from the blow fairly quickly and saw the mobs were metres away from us.

"It's locked!" I informed Draydic. He tried to open it by hitting it with a sword, but with no avail. Then I tried to open it by sliding my enchanted diamond sword inside the slit and pulling it open. I pulled with all my strength, but the door wouldn't bulge and my sword snapped in half. Great, I thought sarcastically.

"I got a plan, but step back," Draydic demanded. I did what I was told and Draydic crazily pulled a creeper from the deadly mobs and pushed it against the door. He tried to jump away before the creeper exploded, but the blast got him. He was knocked into the skeletons and zombies. They went down on him, trying to tear his flesh from his bones. I sped to the group and punched a skeleton in its jaw. I took its quiver and grabbed an arrow and I used it as a shiv. I stabbed the ruthless zombies in the head. One by one the undead fell and Draydic crawled to my feet, gasping in pain. He lend me his sword and I began to chop the heads off the mobs. Unfortunately more creepers were coming to the party, and hissing spiders fell from the roof. I had no choice but to drag Draydic's body inside the armory, and quickly barricaded the entrance with the broken planks of the door. As the zombies tried to get our flesh, I stabbed them through the holes of the planks.

"Draydic, are you bitten?" I asked him as I stopped the mobs at the doorway. Draydic showed me his left arm and it was full of cuts and zombie bites. "Holy crap!"

"I have about less than 12 hours before I turn," Draydic informed me.

"Draydic we got two choices. Either we cut that arm right now and bandage it, or we try to find a level two potion of healing. What will you choose?" My best friend looked at his infected arm and looked at me with a sorrowful, but determined face.

"I'll risk it," he replied courageously.

"Alright buddy. First we need some protection." I pointed at the armour stands that stood near us. They were all either iron or chainmail. Logically we took the iron armour. Draydic got an extra axe for range purposes, and I grabbed a rusty diamond sword that was hidden in a pile of other weapons.

"Wasn't that your old sword Ced?" Draydic wondered, as he grabbed extra iron swords and inserted them in his belt.

"Yep. Good think I kept this guy here!" I answered. Just then a zombie broke through the barricades and charged at us. Draydic grabbed a bow and pierced the zombie's head with an arrow.

"Alright at the count of three we will-" I said before I got interrupted by a creeper explosion.

"You here that? There's someone outside!" Draydic exclaimed. We peeked out the doorway and Draydic was right. There were Minecraftians there. I recognised all of them; they were all part of Jeb's army. What raced my heart the most was a brunette woman with a bow, shooting down the last of the mobs. It was Letta.

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**A/N**

**Please review. :)**


	8. Chapter 7: Back in Business

Chapter 7: Back in Business

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Minecraft, all rights go to Mojang.**

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Draydic and I quietly watched our former companions fight the deadly mobs. I recognised Letta, Stanley, Permus (who was still skinny), a tall, blonde woman named Sylver, another woman named Zellick, a man with a tall afro named Timothy, and a strong and intimidating man named Norman. Letta and Zellick took range, while everyone else went close combat. Once the fight was over Letta finally saw Draydic and I, gazing in awe at the shocking battle.

"So you guys lived after all!" Letta spoke to us. The others turned to see who she was talking to and they opened their mouths in amazement.

"It's Cedric," Permus gasped.

"And Draydic," Zellick added.

Norman walked up to me and looked at me with cold eyes. He put his hand up, as if he wanted to shake my hand. I steadily raised my only hand but before I could react, he grabbed my throat and pushed me to a wall.

"You really think you can betray us like that?!" Norman shouted. I tried to talk, but he wouldn't let me breathe any air.

"Stop it!" Letta demanded. She shot an arrow right next to us. Norman quickly got off me and put his hands up mockingly. As Norman walked away everyone else came to me and Draydic and they were glad that we survived.

"Sorry about Norman," Timothy told me. "Ever since he lost his brother two years ago he became...aggressive,"

"You don't say," I replied, rubbing my sore throat. "So did you guys hold up here or did we coincidentally meet each other here?"

"We held up here ever since Cubonia crumbled to pieces," Permus informed. We've been hiding in the bomb shelter and we came here when we heard explosions."

"Awesome," Draydic said. "By the way do you guys have a potion of healing I could have?" Draydic showed his infected arm to everyone. Sylver took out a small vile from her bag and gave it to him to drink.

"It's really strong, so only take a sip," Sylver instructed. Draydic put a few drops in his mouth then quickly gave the vile back to Sylver. He put his head down in discomfort, thrn looked at his arm. The bites and cuts were slowly healing. "It's a level three potion of healing. It's probably the last we have currently. Be mindful that it only heals cuts, infectivity and bruises. Any severe internal damage and nothing can heal it."

"Can we please discuss more at the bomb shelter?" I pleaded. Everyone agreed and we exited the corpse-filled castle. Permus felt the wall beside the castle, as if he was trying to find a button or lever. Sure enough he found the jackpot a pressed a camouflaged button. The wall beside the button was suddenly moved by pistons, and a one-man doorway was made, along with a flight of stairs. We went inside one by one, with Permus being last. Once we were all inside Permus pressed another camouflage button and the doorway was sealed.

We went down a long flight of stairs that lead to an iron walled bomb shelter. There was plenty of space, and has two storeys. The top floor (which were on) had two rows of double beds, each accompanied with a lamp and drawer. Downstairs was were the kitchen, living room and bathrooms were. There were around 15 more people there, either resting or playing games.

"This is the hell hole we have been living in for a whole year," Zellick joked.

"At least you have a room to sleep in. We have to sleep on nature's floor!" Draydic retaliated.

"Harsh. Come on let's eat lunch." Zellick went downstairs and rung a bell. This must have signalised meal times, I thought. "Before we eat lunch, I would like to announce something important," Zellick stated. I wanted to go downstairs but Stanley and Letta wouldn't let me. "We have found another survivor. Two, in fact. Please welcome Draydic and Cedric!" Draydic and I went down and slowly appeared in front of the small crowd. It was a very awkward moment for both of us, and I was trying not to laugh in embarrassment. I scanned the audience's face, and I caught a grey haired man wearing cracked glasses. He wore a dirty lab coat, and had his mouth wide open.

"Hi dad," I called him, with an uneasy grin on my face. He quickly ran off to me and put his arms around me gently.

"Cedric," he gasped. "You're alive." He let go off me and turned around to face the crowd. Their faces were serious and bland.

"He's a traitor!" A woman shouted.

"It wasn't my fault!" I argued.

"Now Mandy, this is my son we are talking about," My father said gently.

"We don't care if he's your relative, he's not joining us!" A man called out. The people began to rant and tried to push me out of the room. My friends tried to stop the angry mob but they got pushed away as well.

"ENOUGH!" I screamed. I unsheathed my sword and stabbed the ground aggressively. My body heated up, and my mind became foggy. "WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT I'M STAYING!" I removed my sword from the broken wooden planks and went up to the second storey. I quickly got out of the bomb shelter and went up to a tree and attacked it. I used my sword to slice the trunk multiple times.

"Ced," A voice whispered behind me. I peeked and saw Draydic and Letta standing.

"Those idiots down stairs won't understand me," I spoke quietly, with my back away from my best friends. I raised my sword and sliced the tree again. This time the tree fell and I sat on the trunk, looking down at the dry grass. "They don't understand that it's not my fault."

"No offence Ced, but whose fault is it?!" Draydic shouted.

"Oh, so are you in their side now? What a great friend!"

"I'm not saying it's your fault-"

"Then what are you trying to prove?!" I dropped on the floor and began screaming unexpectedly. My father came up and picked me up from the ground.

"Look, Cedric, they want to talk to you. Formally," My father told me. I wiped a tear from my eye and returned to the bomb shelter. I went down to meet the woman who started it all.

"Cedric, please answer this question calmly. Did you, or did you not leave your post the day we got invaded?" I looked at her straight in the eye, with no signs of tears.

"Yes," I said bravely.

"And did you leave for an important or unimportant cause?"

"Unimportant," I replied, still keeping my stance.

"So are you responsible for the deaths of Minecraftians, and the destruction of the final non-anarchist city of all of Minecraftia?!"

I gulped at her last question, then replied, "Yes I am."

"So what in your dimwitted brain will make us think that we will allow you to live with us?"

"I'm the strongest you've ever got in this whole group." Others were shocked at my statement, and many were in denial.

"Prove it," the woman spat.

"Lady my group and I has survived the harsh conditions of the outside world for over a year, and we have managed to survive perfectly!"

"Is that so? Letta told me there were seven in your group. Why has only four returned?"

"The others sacrificed their lives for us to return here. They are true heroes. What are you?" The lady was dumbfounded at my replies. She looked at the people and was shocked when she saw that most of them have joined my side.

"But people, we cannot trust him! He's responsible for the deaths of hundreds!"

"But if we keep him he can save hundreds!" A man retorted. He was the same man who was against my side earlier.

"He could even save thousands," Draydic added.

"Alright fine he can stay," The woman finally said. I cheered and high-fived my companions. Zellick led me to a bed right at the end of the second storey, directly next to Draydic's. Then we grouped together and had a mighty feast downstairs. My father led me to a small room with many other people like Draydic, Letta, Stanley, Zellick, Sylver, Permus and a my father's friend William.

"Cedric, this is a negotiating room. Here we discuss our future plans for our people. Is there anything you would like to say?" My father informed me.

"Actually yes," I said cheerfully. "I have a plan to defeat the leader of the mobs!"

You do?" Draydic questioned me.

"Yep. I realised that the only way to defeat the leader is to have more soldiers. Now I know a camp not far from here that enslaves Minecraftians."

"It's Golden Falls right?" Permus asked.

"Correct. Now Golden Falls is a place that used to be where the highest skilled men trained, and hopefully there are many of them still there."

"That's plausible, but don't you think those Minecraftians would be used for more complex work?" William pointed out.

"That's true...We'll see though. First we will send out a scout to check the slaves, and if I'm right, we'll send a team there to rescue them."

"Your son's a genius Oscar!" William complimented.

"It's only a standard plan," I replied modestly.

"Good idea Cedric, but who will be the scout?" Sylver thought.

"I don't know...Who's the fastest runner?" I told the Minecraftians.

"I think it's you Ced!" Zellick exclaimed.

"Wha?!" I spoke in a surprised tone."Alright fine, but Letta and Draydic are coming with me."

"Dude you always bring us," Draydic complained.

"Alright fine. Um...Stanley and Sylver."

"Whatever," They both replied simultaneously. They briefly gazed at each other fiercely.

"So now that this dilemma is being solved, I have something to show all of you," William announced. He took out a particular item from his pocket and laid It on the table we surrounded. It was a familiar dusty black device that looked like glasses. It had lenses, and has a small microchip attached on the top of the left frame. On each temple lied an adapter that seemed to be able to store other microchips. I suddenly realised it was the Mod. The glasses is called OptiFine, and the adapter is called Forge.

"Do you remember this device anyone?" William asked. All of us agreed except for Stanley. "Alright Stanley. In a nutshell, this Mod is used to provide many physical or mental changes to your body such as improved eyesight and increased regenerative abilities. This is currently as we call in beta, since we are still finalising and creating more Mods for this device. It's completely harmless when wearing it, and takes a few seconds to reboot.

"Cool. Can I wear it?" Stanley said impatiently.

"Of course not! This junk is broken! I was showing you this because I wanted to tell you that we are recreating the Mod by scratch!"

"Well that's awes

"Awesome," Stanley said sarcastically.

"I think we should wrap this meeting up," My father said afterwards. "Sorry that it is shorter than exoected but we need to have the newcomers get used to our new lives."

I left the room and returned to my bed in the upper floor. Stanley was with me, asking questions about Cubonia.

"Sorry I've been asking a lot. It's just that my sister and I lost our parents when I was 13, which was four years ago, so we didn't live a luxurious life. We were forced to beg for our survival, and when the mobs took over our city, my life actually felt better. Even though we were ruled by an evil person, we were at least fed and kept hygienic regularly."

"That's terrible man," I gasped in awe.

"Don't worry though, this life is MUCH better!" Stanley exclaimed.

"Well enjoy it while it lasts, because tomorrow we're going. Also, you need to groom yourself, you look like a possessed boy." I gave him a shaver and a pair of shears.

"Yeah..." Stanley went to the bathroom and after ten minutes he left with a cleaner look. He also wore a blue beanie, whom he explained that he found inside. Then we went ti Sylver and we explained how we were going to complete our mission. After what felt like an hour of talking, we concluded that Stanley and I will take down the mobs while Sylver will save the Minecraftians.

It was midnight and everyone was asleep. I was awake, reading the Minecraftian Encyclopedia, finding any clues of the opposite army. During dinner my father kindly handed me my journal, and he said that it was the only possession I had that he kept. I opened the crusty book and stopped at a fresh page. I thought for a moment, then began writing on the parchment.

July 14th 2021

It has been a while since I have written in this journal. One year in fact! Times have been tough, having to travel the land for a long time, only to return to where I was at the start. To be honest, I have on regrets. Not one. I may have been responsible for the deaths of many innocent Minecraftians, but it only made us stronger. I know that we will defeat the leader of the mobs.

~Cedric Anthony

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